


Immortality

by Book_of_Kells



Series: High Society [5]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-01
Updated: 2014-08-01
Packaged: 2018-02-11 08:04:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2060403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Book_of_Kells/pseuds/Book_of_Kells
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The last goodbye</p>
            </blockquote>





	Immortality

**Author's Note:**

> I want to say thank you to everyone who has commented on this series. It was originally supposed to be just a short three chapters but then I thought.. why not expand.. Now it has morphed into an ungodly thing of which there is no escape lol..

It was a leafy day in August. One of many dog days at the end of summer but the view was lost to the inhabitants of the white SUV as it sped north on the 87 or Adirondack Highway as it was called. The mood in the vehicle was subdued as if a great heavy cloud rained sadness on it but no one knew what to do.   The inhabitants keep their own council either texting or surfing online, awkwardly avoiding each other. Catelyn Stark had been most disapproving of this trip, wanting them to stay in the city where she be assured of their safety.

Sansa sat behind the driver, The Blackfish, staring out the window at the passing scenery. Her thoughts were scattered and jumbled, mostly due to the last weeks since her father’s funeral. The fights with her mother, well actually fights were not the correct word. Her mother’s polite insistence on getting her way was a much better description. The constant presence of Aunt Lyssa’s husband, Petyr who had all but moved in to their Brooklyn Heights home. Bran’s emotional withdrawal, Rickon’s bottomless frustration, Ayra’s unrelenting anger, all this and more were constantly beating at Catelyn Stark like a hurricane as she tried to navigate her own grief. It didn’t help that the killer had not been caught much less identified.

But all through the blackened weeks since her father’s murder, there was Sandor. Her constant, the fixed mark that Sansa’s sanity orbited like so many planetary bodies in the heavens.   She gravitated to him with a single purpose of a few hours of quiet release from the tragedy. In his arms, there was a peace that she craved, a need to escape from the weight her life had become. He knew of her pain and understood her need, giving her all that she asked of him. There were no demands in his arms, just his love for her.

The snort beside her broke the silence that hung heavy in the vehicle. Arya was furiously texting someone. Probably Gendry, Sansa thought as she watched her sister’s reflection in the window. It seems that she had finally made up her mind which of the Baratheon boys she favored, latching on the Gendry with a force that made Sansa smile. Arya had an impulsive streak but those who had her loyalty, would have it until the end of the world. Edric and she were still friends according to Arya, but in the end it was Gendry she really wanted.

Arya had done the “Bad Thing” five weeks ago and still had not been forgiven by their mother. Sansa had received a text early one morning from Arya that she was boarding a flight to Las Vegas and would be back in two weeks. So had Jon, though Jon had known where she was staying. Arya had left a note on the kitchen table, telling their mother that she needed a break from the mad house and would be seeing some friends out of town.

Catelyn had erupted like a volcano when she learned that Arya had left, calling family, friends and airport officials alike. Everyone had descended to the brownstone as Catelyn blew up Arya’s cell repeatedly, screaming at her that she had to come back now and NOW. It took a very calm Uncle Brynden to explain to her that Arya was probably still in the air and unable to receive calls. Catelyn had looked at Robb, telling him to “Fix This” before stalking out of the room with Petyr in her wake.

Robb had call in favors and promised new ones to every official he could that had a reach in Las Vegas. Arya had been smart though. She had flown to Reno but then rented a car and drove to Vegas. But no one knew where. Rob tried talking to Catelyn, so had Sansa but their mother was in a complete tailspin of frustrated angst, demanding that someone bring Arya home.

In the end, Jon and the Blackfish took a plane ride out by the weekend, since Cat was not letting up on the angry guilt trips. Four days later, Arya walked in the brownstone with a calmly serene look that lasted about a minute before Petyr oiled his way out of the kitchen. Then Cat followed, then fifteen hours of yelling and fights, drama the likes of which you could never see on stage. Bran and Rickon had run for the loft downtown, staying in Sansa’s bed while she stayed with Sandor. Early the next afternoon, everyone had packed up in cars before driving out to Brooklyn to get an idea of the damage.

Neither Cat nor Arya would speak of what happened. Robb had tried to talk Arya, telling her what she had done was wrong, their mother been so worried. Arya had not bothered to look up from her book, but told her brother in quiet tones that she was tired of Petyr and his interference here. At eighteen, she was an adult and would start making her plans accordingly. If Robb kept pacifying their mother in this same manner, things would only get worse.

Later that day, the Blackfish had stopped by with an email from Howland Reed. He explained that Howland had something that he had been keeping of Ned’s and would like to make sure it gets to the children. Catelyn had been relentless, asking what he knew and why didn’t she know anything about this. There had been nothing in the will about Howland having any Stark property that needed to be returned. The Blackfish had continued that Ned had not wanted it to be included in the estate and Howland would bring it up himself in a few weeks.

Everyone had received emails on Wednesday, stating to meet in Brooklyn because Howland was going to Winterfell. Catelyn had started packing a suitcase, saying that Bran and Rickon would ride with her to their upstate home. Again, the Blackfish overrode her, handing her a letter that he had he had been given by Howland.

Bran had gotten a peak at the letter that night after Cat had cried herself to sleep. He had sent an email, telling Sansa that their father had written Cat telling her that for one day he wanted the kids to go to Winterfell with the Reeds and the Blackfish should he still be alive. They would keep the kids safe and return them the next day. Cat wasn’t the only one who cried to sleep that night.

Pulling up the long drive to Winterfell, Sansa could feel her heart beat faster as she glimpsed the stonework through the trees. Winterfell was not built like the other great camps in the area of Long Lake who blended into their surroundings. Whereas most were built out of hardwoods and some native stone, Winterfell dominated the landscape screaming to all, _We Will Defend_. The trees had been pushed back except for a massive heart tree near the lake, its leaves dipping down to brush the surface. The stone had been cut and imported from various crumbling castles in Scotland and surrounding moors.

The SUV came to a stop at the side of the house behind a green Kia Optima. The Blackfish shut off the engine but stayed where he was. He pointed off to the side of the house where a small man sat on a stone bench.

“There’s Howland.” The Blackfish pulled out his phone to call Cat letting her know that they had arrived.

“Come on.” Robb looked over his shoulder at the rest of them before he opened his door to get out.

As the siblings piled out of the vehicle, Sansa was struck with a sudden need to have Sandor here. He had walked her out to the Blackfish when he came to Sandor’s apartment that morning. No amount of arguing with her uncle or Sandor would convince them how much she wanted him to go too. If for no other reason than to see Winterfell, a part of childhood that she could share with him. Cat’s attitude towards him was getting worse, so there would be no invitations for Sandor to come there for Christmas.  

Howland walked to meet them halfway in the driveway. His short stature seemed to have become more stooped in the weeks since the funeral, like his grief was weighing him down. He shook Robb’s hand before giving Bran a hug, Bran starting crying as he let go. Sansa could feel tears prickling behind her eyelids at the sight of her brother’s grief.

Howland didn’t speak really just motioned them towards the barn. It had been built originally for horses back in the day but there had not been any here since Lyanna had been a young girl. It was a huge building, having stabled close to twenty horses at one time. Ned had converted the barn into a garage for him to tinker and have a place to go that was quieter than the main house. Sansa had suspected that needed time away from his wife on occasion but had never found the opportunity to voice that opinion.

The Blackfish opened the door, swinging it wide for the others to follow. The floor was concrete with metal shelves lined to one side that used to house the tools. The kids had not played her often as there had been a big KEEP OUT sign on the door for years. The vast darkness loomed behind a low watt bulb that was burning from the wall beside the door. Sansa could see a TV mounted on a rolling cart a few feet away with a DVD player underneath it.

“Don’t turn that on, Robb.” The Blackfish growled just behind her. Sansa turned to see Robb’s hand on the main light switch to the right of the door.

“These turn on the other lights.” Robb explained in confusion as he looked at their uncle.

“Not Yet.” Uncle Bryndon repeated sternly as he folded his arms, stationing himself by the door.

Howland turned on the TV as he loaded a disc into the player, letting it run. “Ned had a better way with words than I ever could.” The little man told the group.

Ned’s image popped up on the tv screen startling everyone. Sansa felt her heart break all over again as she saw her father, smiling that same goofy smile that he reserved for his family. He was wearing a thick cream cable knit sweater over faded blue jeans. He was sitting on the same metal swivel stool that Sansa could see pushed in the corner. Just at that moment, the Blackfish hit the lights to reveal six black and grey lumps in the bay behind the screen.

_“Ok, lets gets started. First off, if you are watching this, I’m dead. I am not making light of this. Grief is a horrible thing, my children. I want you to know that I love you all so very much. It is because of my love for you that I am giving you one last thing. Something that is yours alone. I have been working on this project since Robb was born and have enjoyed it immensely. Your mom doesn’t know and there will be an explanation for that at some point. First off. Howland and Jojen have been invaluable in getting this done. Howland for his forbearance and Jojen for his knowledge. There are parts to this that will look old and that is because they were done some years ago when there was only VHS. I started working on old cars as a way of stress relief. It beats drinking or taking pills. If I had even looked at another woman, Cat would have emasculated me. So these are my gifts children, handle them with care..”_

Ned got off the stool, now putting his hands in his pockets. He was so alive on the screen, Sansa thought, so vital. It was so viciously wrong for him to die now!

_“The date today is December 22. We came up here two days ago but we are still waiting on Jon because of his shift. Jojen said that for continuity that I should begin with Robb.“_

Oh gods ! Sansa thought, that was last winter, their last Christmas together! The screen went black for a moment then the black split to reveal a younger Ned wearing a black sweater and grey pants. It had to be about fifteen years ago.

_“Hi there Robb my boy. I remember when you were born because it was only time I wasn’t with your mom. You have no idea how hard that is to miss the birth of your first child. I hope you never have that happen to you because quite frankly, your mom has never let me forget. EVER! I can’t say how much joy it gives me to see the fine man you have become. You are a Stark and you understand what it means to have a family. Just make sure you start one after twenty five ! Just kidding my boy. For you, I give the 1968 Camero Z28.”_

The Blackfish walked to the first lump in the barn, pulling back the tarp. The gleaming dark grey paint winked at them, shiny as a new dime. But Ned’s voice pulled them back to the screen.

_“ She has a 396 big block that puts out about 350 horsepower. She will go until she drops but like any lady, she will need special handling. Take care of her and she will take care of you.”_

The imaged faded again, this time Ned was wearing a blue turtleneck that stretched over his frame. He wore it tucked into a pair of khakis with pleats in the front. Ned Stark was a handsome man in his older age but he was quite the looker when he was younger.

_“My dearest Sansa. You are sixteen right now, just left for the formal dance at school with some idiot that I should have shot as he walked up to the door. Just kidding, my dear. Well maybe. Anyway. You are so beautiful, my darling girl. So much like your mother at that age that it frightens me. You try to see the same beauty in those around you. It is a wonderful trait but I don’t want you to be blind to those who would hurt you. There is evil in this world that courtesy will not make go away. You have Tully looks but you are a Stark. Don’t be afraid to let the wolf out. For you, I give the 1970 Mustang Mach 1. She has the 302 Boss V8 with a 4 barrel carb. She’s a 4 speed and she is sensitive. But her level of aggression is impressive in a small frame.”_

The screen when black again, but Howland hit pause. The Blackfish walked to the second car, watching in her face as he pulled back the cover. The dark gray paint gleamed beside her brother’s, the high gloss wax catching the light. Sansa felt her breath catch at first sight of the beautiful car. Part of wanted to run over and jump behind the wheel, the other more sensible part wanted to see those last few parts of her dad on the screen.

The picture was back, this time Ned was dressed in a short sleeve white polo shirt and plaid bermudas. Sansa and Arya laughed out loud as they hugged each other, remembering the fights their parents had over those shorts. Now Ned had saved them for posterity.

_“Ohhh Arya. What can I say? You are strong willed, smart and more courage than ten grown men! So beautiful too. I just hope you learn that same beauty is a double edge sword. Your aunt was a victim of it and her own strong will. Remember, not every fight is solved by your fists and not every battle is won by the strongest. You must learn to outlast your enemies. To endure and survive. For you, I give the 1967 Corvette Stingray. This was the last generation of the C2s and without a doubt the best. It has the L88 engine which is as close to a racing machine as Chevy ever did for regular production. Now you will have to use the higher octane fuel because the compression ratio is off the charts. Learn restraint, darling girl or my last gift to you will be in a salvage yard.”_

The screen was black as Howland hit pause for the unveiling. Arya walked to the Blackfish as he pulled back the tarp on the third vehicle. Like the others, it was grey in color and gleamed under the lights. Ary _a_ sat in front of the car, laying her head on the bumper and cried in great gulping sobs. Sansa walked over to sit with her sister in her grief, wrapping her arms around Arya, holding her close.

The Blackfish was crying too but in a restrained way that men have. Sansa remembered that it wasn’t just they would had lost a father but Howland and Uncle Bryndon who had lost a great confidant. Their lives would be different now for better or for worse from this moment. Even dear Winterfell would pass to Robb once the probate was settled instead of Catelyn. The sweetness of their childhood had turned rotten because of one man that was still unknown to them.

The Blackfish walked down the way from her and Arya, pulling the tarp on a Chevelle also dark grey. Bran’s car. The summer child of the group just turned sixteen. There was no way Catelyn would allow him to have it now or the car that would go to Rickon either. They were way too young and inexperienced for such heavy muscle cars.

Bran didn’t walk to his car, not like Robb did. He stayed with Rickon, was holding on to him and Jon as he sobbed his grief at seeing is father again if only on a TV as their father tried to say goodbye to them all. Howland had walked behind Rickon to embrace them all once it was Rickon’s turn. The strain on the smaller man had to be great as was his loyalty to a childhood friend. Sansa marveled that he arranged this whole situation for them to give them their cars.

Rickon’s still cried as the Blackfish pulled back a sheet to reveal a black Pontiac Trans Am like what was driven in the Smoky and the Bandit movies. Sansa smiled through her tears as she continued to rock with Arya on the cold concrete. Rickon had loved those movies with Burt Reynolds and run through the house screaming the lyrics to the title song at the top of his lungs.

Sansa wondered was Catelyn blind that her husband had such hobby? How had Ned found the time to tinker after they had moved to the city? He had not been to Winterfell for any length of time since become the Police Commissioner. Maybe the repair work on the cars had not been so extensive. Maybe some required new upholstery and new bumpers? It might not have been like building the cars from the ground up. Nevertheless, Ned wanted her to have it, so she would cherish it for the rest of her life. Looking at the mustang, Sansa smiled again at the beautiful gift.

There was some commotion by the TV, making Arya and Sansa look up in alarm. The Blackfish and Robb were holding Jon together as he wailed in despair. Howland was crying unabashedly now, holding Rickon and Bran in his arms. The Blackfish led Jon and Robb to a final car at the end. Oh gods, Sansa thought, Dad gave a car to Jon too.

Jon had come their family as a baby, an orphan due to a senseless tragedy. Though he was their cousin, they had been taught to regard him as their brother from a young age. Catelyn had the good grace to accept him though coldly at times because of whispers of rude people. Now Ned had cemented Jon’s place for all time in their family by making him a Stark heir.

The sheet was pulled back to reveal a rather ugly car. Sansa didn’t know old cars but Arya gasped at the sight. Getting to her feet, she helped Sansa too.

“Look, Sansa. Dad gave Jon a Ford Falcon. I think that is the half year model.” There was a wonderment in her voice as she stared at the men down the way.

Bran and Rickon went to their cars, running light fingers over the glossy paint. Sansa realized that all the cars were grey, like their coat of arms. A gray wolf on a white plain, Winter Is Coming. It was symbolic that Ned chose to remind his kids of their past and give them a future all at once. Maybe it was a bright future after all?

Howland called to them, saying that there was one more message for them to hear. Pressing play once more, they all embraced each other as they waited for the last words to be played.

Ned popped back up on the screen in the cream cable knit sweater and jeans that he had been wearing in the beginning. He was sitting in the chair holding some notecards.

_"I hope I have chosen well. Also, the best cars have names and they are usually girl names! But most importantly is that you know that I love you all very much. Jojen Reed as asked that I do this in closing. I feel as though I have asked so much of them if they want to anything of me, than this is a small thing indeed. As you know, there have been many in the Reed family with a gift of sight. Some have been very famous, some very wealthy but all have been talented. Jojen is the latest in that long line of seers and his visions have been coming stronger each year. He says that a darkness is coming for the Starks worse than in living memory. He says that if he sees the same thing in his dreams three times it will happen. Forewarned is forearmed."_

_"Robb, beware the two towers. They build upon the bones of the unwary, crushing them into dust. But if you destroy their foundation, they will fall into ruin. Insult them and you will come home. Roaming the world as a headless shade. Hmmm I guess that means the lord of the rings!"_

Ned started laughing in his chair thinking that was a great joke as he put the notecard at the bottom of his stack in his hands.

_"Sansa, be careful of the one who calls you by another’s name. He seeks to use you in place of the one he lost. Look to the great black dog for he will be your lifeline. A dog will die for you but never lie to you. A mockingbird is the greatest liar of them all. Well, no death from Jojen dear girl, that is positive. Not sure about that dog and mockingbird thing"._

Jon walked over to Arya and Sansa, putting his arms around them both. His eyes were red from breaking down but he was smiling as he looked at her. “Did you know that we call Sandor the Hound?” Sansa started to reply but her father’s voice cut into her thought.

_"Arya. There is a darkness coming and you will be the Starks greatest champion or its worst regret. Do not let the darkness consume you for there is one who will pull you from the pit. The Bull with Stag horns walks beside you if you let him. He is your destiny"._

Arya looked confused. Maybe it was the Bull with Stag horns? Sansa was almost waiting to hear that her lucky numbers were 4,14, 10 ! Jojen was so getting an email later !

_"Bran, there is a journey before you. A long journey to find what was lost. You will meet friends and enemies along the way. Embrace the greatness inside you for you have vision to see what is to come. I think this kid eats too many fortune cookies!"_

There were giggles amongst the group at that comment. Bran put his arm around a laughing Howland with a smile.

_"Rickon. Anger will not help you in the days to come. Bran will need you more than anyone and you need a clear head. Use your eyes to see and your ears to listen to the enemy that sleeps close. Be small in his world so that the enemy will overlook you to their peril"._

Rickon grunted at the screen, shifting his feet. Bran might have told Jojen about Rickon but still it was a nice gesture from someone outside the family who wanted to help them. But Jojen had known something was coming and never said anything during his visit earlier in the year. Maybe he felt he would change the course of what was to come? Make things worse if they were changed.

_"Jon. There will be many women in your path. Women of fire. Others of flowers and roses without thorns. Mother of dragons. Let none close for you must not fail. Trust not those who call you brother but are no kin. You are a member of this pack, no matter your blood. To a pack, loyalty is everything."_

Ned stops for a moment looking at the cards before he continues.

_"Kids. I don’t know what this darkness is that is coming. I don’t know which way it will hit. There is so much I don’t know which means there is much where I cannot protect my family. That is a father’s worst fear. There has been some things, odd feelings lately or maybe forgotten instincts of past wars that niggle at me but if something happens, remember you have each other. You are pack. If the enemy wants war, don’t stop until they are all dead. I learned that the hard way. No prisoners, they will just come after you later when you’re weak. I want happy lives for you. So live through this so you can have those happy lives. I love you all."_

The DVD ended with a black screen. The Stark children gathered close to mourn but celebrate the life of their father. The road ahead was dark, but they would endure. The pack would survive.

*****************************

The Next Morning…

There were two lines. She grabbed the package from the edge of the marble sink to make sure of what she was seeing. Yes, there were definitely two lines on the EPT test. Fucking Shit! She was pregnant! The shock hit hard, bringing on the nausea that she had been fighting for two weeks.

Spinning around, she threw up bile into the toilet bowl, coughing as the acid burned her throat. She dropped to the cold tile on the floor, backing up to the wall. Pulling her knees up to her body as her nightgown bunched around her, she took deep breaths to still the panic that tried to claw its way out of her scoured throat. If she could get to the kitchen and make some of the ginger tea that she was drinking by the gallon lately and all would be well. Just needed to pick herself off the floor and go. Having a mini meltdown wouldn’t stop the life from growing in her belly.

Head back against the wall, she began counting from her last period which had been just before the Robert Baratheon’s funeral. Reality hit her like a sledgehammer between the eyes making her scramble forward to unload once again..

She got pregnant the weekend after the funeral! Damnit to hell ! What was she going to do?!

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Ok.. breaks over.. time to write the terrible thing.. lol..I figured that giving the kids cars instead of direwolves or even wolf hybrids would be easier since I can write car crashes better than animal death. 
> 
> I own nothing.. my idea puppies are off the leash running loose in asoiaf land !


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